Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

managed for nontimber values. This management will provide somecontribution toward recovery.In general, there are several means that can be considered for accomplishingrecovery objectives on nonfederal lands. Conservation planning (sectionIII.C.3.) could lead to more efficient conservation measures and could helpachieve some of these recovery goals. Conservation plans on state lands couldbe used to comply with the state's Endangered Species Act on state-ownedlands and provide an incentive for conservation planning. The recovery planshould be used to help guide compliance with Oregon's Endangered SpeciesAct programs on state lands and provide an incentive for conservation planning.To the extent that the recovery plan and the state Endangered SpeciesAct programs can be made consistent, coordination between them will beimproved.In checkerboard ownership areas where a federal nexus may exist, criticalhabitat designation could provide additional protection. Federal land exchangeor purchase might be necessary to meet the recovery objective. The OregonDepartment of Forestry is implementing a Sustainable Forestry Program onstate lands that would yield additional benefits to wildlife by providing moresnags, down material, and riparian zone protection. Other voluntary contributionson private lands could provide additional benefits.Western Oregon Cascade ProvinceProvince descriptionThis province is the largest in Oregon (6.9 million acres), contains more documentedowl pairs (925), and has the largest acreage of nesting, roosting, andforaging habitat (approximately 1,918,000 acres). Land ownership throughoutthe province is mixed, with private lands generally at lower elevations. Nationalforest land extends almost the length of the province and includes theMt. Hood, Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue River National Forests. BLM lands,generally occurring in checkerboard ownerships with private lands, are locatedat lower elevations on the western portion of the province. These BLM landsinclude parts of the Salem, Eugene, Roseburg, and Medford Districts. Statelands are present in the northern portion of the province in the Santiam StateForest.Habitat has been fragmented by timber harvest throughout the province.However, the fragmentation is less severe at middle elevations than at lowerelevations. Higher elevations (above 4,500 feet) are naturally unsuitable asspotted owl habitat. This landscape has resulted in current owl distributiongenerally in the mid-elevation zone. Owls are generally distributed continuouslythrough national forest lands at these middle elevations with the exceptionof the checkerboard ownership lands in the Santiam drainage. A few owlsoccur at lower elevations on private lands where habitat remains.As discussed in Status and Threats (section II.B.5.), owl management concernsin the province are varied. These concerns include habitat loss and fragmentation(71 percent of the province is considered unsuitable habitat due to timberharvest); declining populations; and poor population connectivity with adjacentprovinces due to checkerboard ownership, timber harvest, and the ColumbiaRiver Gorge.Two areas of special management emphasis have been identified. In each area,there are two main concerns. The first is the pattern of checkerboard ownershipwithin DCAs. Federal lands alone in these DCAs would be inadequate tofully meet the DCA objectives. The second main concern is poor population167